Rabies isn't funny

The following was posted on the blog "The Gowanus Lounge":

Wednesday, September 05, 2007
Why Brooklyn is Better: Aggressive Geese & Attacking Raccoons

This email caught our attention for two reasons: A Prospect Park raccoon biting someone and "very aggressive" ducks and geese. Here's what it says:

My family and I were feeding the ducks & geese yesterday afternoon at the lake near the Vanderbilt entrance (something we won't do again because they got very aggressive) and saw a raccoon moseying around in plain sight. I was disturbed that people were not moving away from it and was explaining to my son that there must be something wrong with the animal if it dares to walk around where people were. At the time it was crossing under a log where a woman was sitting with her family. I turned away momentarily, when the woman starts screaming, jumps up and I see the husband pulling the animal off her. The raccoon had bitten her on her upper thigh.

Later I spoke with a fellow who was closer to the incident and he told me that the police had arrived shortly after we left and that he had urged the woman to go to the hospital.

Ah, urban nature.

posted by rsguskind at 8:10 AM

5 Comments:

Anonymous said...
I live in Forest Hills, North of Queens Blvd. Racoons are pretty common around here, but they rarely walk around in daylight... you can see them crossing the street at night sometimes.

If the racoon was walking in daylight, around people, and bit a woman, odds are the racoon was rabid.

If I was that woman, I would go get rabies shots. 10:12 AM

Anonymous said...
we used to have raccoons all the time in norwalk connecticut but rabies damn near wiped them out. Sounds like it moved to the city finally. 10:31 AM

icky said...
Imagine, wild animals out in nature. How offensive that must have been for those poor people.
Okay, okay. The racoon probably had something wrong with it and for that I sympathise. (I got chased and bit by a crazy squirrel once.) Wouldn't want anyone to get sick. But, they're not people, ya know. They are not "trained." They're not even pets. They're wild animals. You wanted nature? You got it. Besides, the picture of someone being chased by a goose is funny no matter who is involved. 10:59 AM

icky said:
Besides, the picture of someone being chased by a goose is funny no matter who is involved.Man...LOL I have to agree with you on that 1:20 PM

hellx said...
At this rate, pretty soon we're going to see stories like this onecoming out of Williamsburg. 1:54 PM

Anonymous said...
For several years, The Center for Disease Control, New York State's department of health and NYC's Department of Health and Mental Hygiene have been "alerting" the public about the sharp increase in incidents of rabies in NYC. Just do a search for "Rabies AND "New York City"". Ignoring the obvious could cause that woman her life.

It also makes me wonder why the health department thinks it's a good idea to unleash dogs in city parks. Population control? 5:11 PM